Quote from: Bloody Stupid Johnson;788098200 years after the end of the world, creatures of magic and aliens from other dimensions live side-by-side with humans upon the reshaped Earth. PCs can be normal humans, wizards, mutants, dragons, cyborgs, even creatures from other dimensions (pull out your favourite character from some other RPG and use the Conversion Book). Your group could be fighting for survival in the wilderness, exploring demon-infested ruins looking for treasure, allying with the fascists that are humanities' current best hope, helping save a small town from bandits, going for a trip through the Rifts to a different planet completely, or getting dragged into the battle against / between the cosmic evils that threaten the planet -the Splugorth, the Four Horseman, the Mechanoids, the Vampire Intelligences.

Thanks, mate. I like the what-to-do approach of your pitch.

Quote from: everloss;787907Hell, if there were a clinic on dungeon mastering, I would train everyone on running Rifts. If you can do that without sucking, you'll be awesome at running any game.

I agree....but as a caveat, I feel you really need mellow fun players with Rifts more than other RPGs because the rules munchkins can shatter the fun faster than with most other RPGs.

If you have a crew that cares more about fun than rules, then Rifts can kickass more than most other games. It's impressive when it works.

Quote from: Spinachcat;788482I agree....but as a caveat, I feel you really need mellow fun players with Rifts more than other RPGs because the rules munchkins can shatter the fun faster than with most other RPGs.

If you have a crew that cares more about fun than rules, then Rifts can kickass more than most other games. It's impressive when it works.

That can happen in any game. 3.x, Pathfinder, Shadowrun all have craploads of sites and generators designed to min-max the fun out of it.

I believe that knowing how to deal with munchkin players who suck the fun out of a game for every one else is part of being a good GM.

Quote from: everloss;788626That can happen in any game. 3.x, Pathfinder, Shadowrun all have craploads of sites and generators designed to min-max the fun out of it.

I believe that knowing how to deal with munchkin players who suck the fun out of a game for every one else is part of being a good GM.

There is an argument to be made that with Rifts lack of consistency in power level and push for zany combinations that you are meant to min-max your characters. Just min-max them in different ways. You play a Godling with power armor, you play an Anti-Monster-Crazy and I'll be a Cosmo-Knight. Okay, we can all agree we're bad ass, now lets get to the story.

Quote from: Certified;788708There is an argument to be made that with Rifts lack of consistency in power level and push for zany combinations that you are meant to min-max your characters. Just min-max them in different ways. You play a Godling with power armor, you play an Anti-Monster-Crazy and I'll be a Cosmo-Knight. Okay, we can all agree we're bad ass, now lets get to the story.

Sounds fun. I don't see how that's min-maxing though. Munchkin, sure, but that doesn't really matter when everyone is munchkin'd out. To me, min-maxing in Rifts would be rolling up a Rogue Scholar and only choosing physical skills, weapon proficiencies, and the best hand to hand style, while ignoring the spirit of the class.

Rules lawyer note: an Anti-Monster can be crazy, in fact I believe they start with an insanity, but they can't be combined with Crazy (MOM) technology.

Quote from: everloss;788626I believe that knowing how to deal with munchkin players who suck the fun out of a game for every one else is part of being a good GM.

I've mastered the ancient art of throwing munchkin jackasses out of games. Anybody who sucks the fun out of the game (for any of the myriad reasons) gets the boot.

In the old days, I thought I needed to develop skills to somehow keep the worthless bitches in the game while making sure everyone had fun. I fell for the geek tolerance fallacy when I was a teen, and even into college.

But the hard truth is that munchkins, like lawncrappers and catpissmen need to be ejected immediately before they poison a good gaming group.

Some munchkins can be domesticated. At my game table, everyone is innocent until proven guilty of disruption. I've ejected people with whom I'd gamed with for 15 years on account of being disruptive, and would do it again in a heartbeat, if the circumstances were to repeat themselves.

Quote from: The Butcher;789002Some munchkins can be domesticated.

But then you have to walk them... and there's not enough plastic bags in the world let your hand feel clean after that.

Quote from: Nexus;789009But then you have to walk them... and there's not enough plastic bags in the world let your hand feel clean after that.

I don't think it's a GM's job clean up after his or her players.

I had once defined RIFTS as "everything a 14 year old boy could want in an RPG: giant robots, magic, and occasional boobies".

However, that's not entirely fair: the world of RIFTS itself is hugely detailed and relatively consistent.

It totally is a teenager's game. As Rifts fans get older, they tend to try to house rule it into reality-oblivion, which to me, destroys the fun and makes it much more complicated. Of course, I've done the same thing.

However...

I posted skill rules for what I'm tentatively calling 'Rifts Basic' (don't tell Kevin) in the stickied thread on the RPGPundit's forum. I think they keep the awesomeness, but ditch the unnecessary complications. However, since that particular thread is only about skills, I only posted my skill house rules. I'm going to post the whole shit storm on my blog later this week.

Note: While researching the RMB (I don't own the Ultimate Edition), I noticed that there are rules for things that I'm pretty sure I never noticed before. And I ran the fucking game for a long goddamn time.

I don't know why I'm on a Rifts kick lately. I already have an LotFP game I'm running, and I'm playing in two Savage Worlds games and a Pathfinder game. The likelyhood of running a Rifts game in the near future is nill. I guess I just like to tinker, and since I'm more familiar with Rifts than any other game, it just is a natural instinct.

Quote from: RPGPundit;789232I had once defined RIFTS as "everything a 14 year old boy could want in an RPG: giant robots, magic, and occasional boobies".

Other than the classic Atlantis cover, I don't recall a whole lot of boobies in Rifts. I clearly bought the wrong world books.

Quote from: Soylent Green;789366Other than the classic Atlantis cover, I don't recall a whole lot of boobies in Rifts. I clearly bought the wrong world books.

Don't forget the cover of the rule book.

The Rifter magazine had a Swimsuit issue, which consisted of pretty terrible fantasy and sci-fi artwork. I have trouble believing that it sold any copies due to the cover alone; it looked like it was drawn by 12 year old, and colored by an 8 year old. To me, Palladium's artwork has steadily gone down in quality every year since the late 90s. They still use a few excellent artists, but they don't use them much anymore.

Yes, I meant the cover of the core rulebook, which depicts that critter form Atlantis, rather than the cover of the Atlantis itself.

It seems that the first edition cover by Keith Parkinson (whom passing I regret) has made a lasting impression on many persons ^_^ !